Any Color You Like: NIST Scientists Create 'Any Wavelength' Lasers

6 hours ago

Scientists at NIST have developed a new method for creating integrated photonics chips that use light to process information, marking a potential technological revolution akin to electronic chips.
The photonics chips are made by depositing materials like lithium niobate and tantalum pentoxide onto silicon wafers, enabling efficient control and conversion of light across multiple layers and wavelengths.
This advancement could significantly benefit emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computers, and optical atomic clocks by making lasers cheaper, more portable, and efficient.
Key innovations include the use of nonlinear materials to generate a wide range of light colors from a single laser and the ability to integrate multiple photonic circuits on fingernail-sized chips.
The technology addresses current hurdles in photonics, like the bulkiness and high cost of lasers for quantum applications, potentially enabling portable optical clocks for fields like navigation and earthquake prediction.
NIST collaborated with startup Octave Photonics to scale up the technology, though mass production readiness is still in development, with promising applications in VR displays and AI signal routing.

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